Right-Wing Down To Just Defending The Existence Of Walls

What really is a “wall”? A giant brick monstrosity intruding on the horizon? A see-through steel fence featuring “artistically designed steel slats”? An affront to God himself? If you said “a high thick masonry structure forming a long rampart or an enclosure chiefly for defense,” congrats—you’re a nerd (or the dictionary).

The wall really represents the same thing to both groups—a barrier that metaphorically and physically separates the United States from Mexico. (The former is kind of possible, but stupid and wasteful, and the latter is impossible, stupid, and wasteful.)

Democratic Representative Eric Swalwell got to the crux of the wall debate and in doing so inspired what’s been called “the dumbest tweet of 2019”:

My favorite part of the conservative outrage responses to this tweet is the “but the Berlin Wall was to keep people in” argument. Missing ENTIRELY that a wall is a wall no matter what side of it you are on. It’s medieval. It’s a symbol of “us and not us.” And that is not U.S.

Swalwell’s tweet knocked something loose in the brain of conservative writer Dan McLaughlin and this gem rattled out of his skull (which, if I’m judging by his avi pic and using his excruciating literalism, is a baseball):

The Vietnam Memorial Wall is also a wall. So is the Wailing Wall. So is the Green Monster. If you are against all walls regardless of purpose or function, you are against houses, churches & hospitals. https://t.co/ift9ENiBww

The Killing is a Netflix show. And "killing" at a comedy club means you did a great job. So if you are against killing regardless of purpose or function, you are against serial dramas on Netflix and doing a great job at comedy. https://t.co/EeFu5VWIoH

McLaughlin didn’t back away from his jaw-droopingly stupid take, but he did try to narrow and re-frame his argument to make it slightly less stupid (but still just amazingly stupid):

And here we go with the "all in defending Swalwell's logic."

I still have not found anyone to defend "a wall is a wall no matter what side of it you are on" as a case that there is no possible logical difference between the current fencing at the Mexican border & the Berlin Wall https://t.co/laKkRRmB5L

Again, no one is making the argument that the current fencing = Berlin Wall. Democrats have voted for increased border security, cameras, drones, and, yes, even physical barriers where they’re needed. Walling (or fencing) off the entire southern border is impractical, wasteful, and very very very stupid. It’s also racist because the intent is to send a message to our non-white neighbors that we don’t trust them.